Bond will not seek another term
By: Manu Raju and Josh Kraushaar
January 8, 2009 02:58 PM EDT

Sen. Kit Bond, the senior Republican from Missouri who sits on powerful Senate committees, announced Thursday that he will not run for reelection in 2010, giving Democrats a shot to pick up a seat in a state that has emerged as a major battleground.

The announcement is a blow to Senate Republicans who may now have at least four of their incumbents seeking retirement at the end of the session, a sign that 2010 could be another tough cycle for the weakened GOP minority.

In addition to Bond, Sens. Mel Martinez of Florida and Sam Brownback of Kansas are retiring, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas may run for governor of her home state, creating another opening.

In a speech before Missouri’s General Assembly, Bond announced Thursday that after 40 years of public service in the state, he would retire at the end of the 111th Congress.

“As a sixth-generation Missourian, I have always loved our state. Through 40 years in public life I have met many wonderful people. The people I have met along the way are the reason I ran for public office and the reason I am still here,” said Bond, 69, according to his prepared remarks. “I thank the voters of Missouri who elected me to represent them. There is no greater honor. I am truly blessed to have been entrusted by them with the responsibility of public office.”

Missouri has emerged as a battleground state, after Democrat Claire McCaskill defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Jim Talent in 2006 and Barack Obama lost the state by fewer than 5,000 votes to John McCain in the 2008 elections. And Missouri voters just elected Jay Nixon, a Democrat, as their next governor, signaling that Bond could face a tough challenge if he ran for a fifth term.

Republicans have a deep bench in Missouri, and many prominent members are expected to consider running to succeed Bond in the Senate. The list includes former House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, former Sen. Jim Talent and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson. Sarah Steelman, who is the state treasurer, and former Rep. Kenny Hulshof, who lost the governor's race in 2008, are also potential GOP contenders for Bond’s seat, according to a GOP Hill aide. On the Democratic side, Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, daughter of the late Gov. Mel Carnahan, is a possible contender.

“In 1972, I became Missouri’s youngest governor,” Bond said. “Good friends: I have no aspiration of becoming Missouri’s oldest senator.”

In his speech, Bond called for bipartisanship in light of the worsening economy and threats abroad, and recited his legislative record on issues ranging from health care to energy policy.

“We all need President Obama and Gov. Nixon to succeed,” he said. “As Ben Franklin said during another grave time in American history, ‘We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.’ We may not be threatened with literal hanging, but are in perilous times.”

Bond is one of the most senior Republicans still serving in the Senate and holds powerful positions on the Appropriations Committee, Commerce Committee and Intelligence Committee. He has angered some on the right for his penchant for funneling hundreds of millions of dollars in pet projects to Missouri, but he won praise from his colleagues for pushing through President Bush’s electronic surveillance legislation over strong Democratic objections in the heat of the 2008 campaign season.

His style can be brash, though, and his colleagues rejected three of his bids to become chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. And he has rankled feathers among some Senate Democrats for his blunt style and bomb-throwing nature.

But in his speech, Bond struck a conciliatory note.

“I thank my political adversaries for keeping me nimble, and the media for keeping me humble,” he said.